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9 1/2 Month Child Is Underweight. Suggest A Diet Plan To Increase The Weight Of The Baby?
Question: Hi,
My baby is 9 and half months.He is only 6.5 kilos and weight has increased very less in last 2 months (about .5 kilo increased). I give him cornflakes with fruits at breakfast.Can I give cornflakes to my baby ? I give him lunch after 3 hours of breakfast and I give him Dal rice beans boiled.At 8 pm I give him again dal rice with carrot or beet and potatoes boiled. At night I give him milk 2 times.He also takes breast milk in between solid foods.Is the diet chart ok?Can I introduce ghee or butter for him so that his weight increases?can you suggest some diet chart that will help to increase his weight considering that his weight is less and he is always doing lots of activity
Thanks,
XXXXXX
My baby is 9 and half months.He is only 6.5 kilos and weight has increased very less in last 2 months (about .5 kilo increased). I give him cornflakes with fruits at breakfast.Can I give cornflakes to my baby ? I give him lunch after 3 hours of breakfast and I give him Dal rice beans boiled.At 8 pm I give him again dal rice with carrot or beet and potatoes boiled. At night I give him milk 2 times.He also takes breast milk in between solid foods.Is the diet chart ok?Can I introduce ghee or butter for him so that his weight increases?can you suggest some diet chart that will help to increase his weight considering that his weight is less and he is always doing lots of activity
Thanks,
XXXXXX
HI
Congrats on your son
Unfortunately cornflakes would not be an appropriate cereal at this point, you can consider using this when he is over a yr. The reason is that most adult cereals do not have enough calories to enough growth at 9 months and his growth will slow down.
You can consider using the baby cereals instead, they would have enough calories for him.
It is good that he eats solid food, at this stage he will be transitioning from milk to food, try him with different foods but remember stick to the 3 day rule when introducing a new food. It allows you to find out if he is allergic to any foods.
You would introduce the new food, give him for three days watching for any signs that he is allergic to it.
Foods that he can take at his age include( remember it would have to be very soft or mashed): GRAINS such as barley , pasta, rice, wheat, wheat germ,peas
FRUITS such as avocado, apples, figs grapes, cherries,plums,prunes,pears,peaches
VEGETABLES such as pumpkin, carrot, beets, broccoli, XXXXXXX beans,potatoes, breadfruit
PROTEIN such as beef, chicken, egg yolks,fish
DAIRY such as cottage cheese and cheddar cheese
Remember at his age, he still needs between 22 to 28 ounces of milk a day (milk has more calories than food) so is good that you are continuing it, make sure he drinks enough.
If you are giving him the above and he is still not gaining enough according to his doctor then the doctor may suggest adding cereals to dissolve in the milk to increase the calorie content of the milk or adding a little butter (small amount) to his food.
Remember babies grow at different rates, the doctor will look at his growth chart and see if he is growing along his growth curve. Normally concern is raised if the child's weight starts making him go consistently below his curve.
The expected rate of weight gain is 3 to 5 ounces a week.
I hope this information is helpful, I know how difficult it is to figure out what to feed your baby, I have 2 of them and even as a doctor it can sometimes be difficult.Feel free to ask any additional questions
Congrats on your son
Unfortunately cornflakes would not be an appropriate cereal at this point, you can consider using this when he is over a yr. The reason is that most adult cereals do not have enough calories to enough growth at 9 months and his growth will slow down.
You can consider using the baby cereals instead, they would have enough calories for him.
It is good that he eats solid food, at this stage he will be transitioning from milk to food, try him with different foods but remember stick to the 3 day rule when introducing a new food. It allows you to find out if he is allergic to any foods.
You would introduce the new food, give him for three days watching for any signs that he is allergic to it.
Foods that he can take at his age include( remember it would have to be very soft or mashed): GRAINS such as barley , pasta, rice, wheat, wheat germ,peas
FRUITS such as avocado, apples, figs grapes, cherries,plums,prunes,pears,peaches
VEGETABLES such as pumpkin, carrot, beets, broccoli, XXXXXXX beans,potatoes, breadfruit
PROTEIN such as beef, chicken, egg yolks,fish
DAIRY such as cottage cheese and cheddar cheese
Remember at his age, he still needs between 22 to 28 ounces of milk a day (milk has more calories than food) so is good that you are continuing it, make sure he drinks enough.
If you are giving him the above and he is still not gaining enough according to his doctor then the doctor may suggest adding cereals to dissolve in the milk to increase the calorie content of the milk or adding a little butter (small amount) to his food.
Remember babies grow at different rates, the doctor will look at his growth chart and see if he is growing along his growth curve. Normally concern is raised if the child's weight starts making him go consistently below his curve.
The expected rate of weight gain is 3 to 5 ounces a week.
I hope this information is helpful, I know how difficult it is to figure out what to feed your baby, I have 2 of them and even as a doctor it can sometimes be difficult.Feel free to ask any additional questions
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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